CHAPTER iv:
LOST IN THE LIGHT
The biggest mystery to most about Kleo is how she earned her scar. Not many have the courage to ask the lioness of how she received it because 1) they feared she would bite their head off for asking (literally and/or figuratively), and 2) Kleo was not an easily approachable person, so, just in other words: Kleo scared everyone that wasn't her friends (minus Carlos. The boy is a little scared of her) or her ex-boyfriend or her fake boyfriend or her family. But it wasn't like her friends knew how she got her scar―it was only Mal who knew. Not because Kleo told her, it's because she was there when it happened.
Kleo admires her scar. She supposes it makes her feel closer to her father in a way. He never exactly told her about how he got his, but she still thinks it's quite nice they have another feature to match; first their green eyes and now his infamous scar, the reason for his new identity. Her scar didn't grant her a new identity, but more of bragging rights, perhaps, and a pride of her own. Her scar let her grow in a way she never knew, causing her to protect her friends no matter the cost, sort of like their lion guard.
Evie, the persistent evil princess she was, had been trying to work around her scar for the past hour. Applying makeup here and there, putting on the last touches to the dress she had just created for Kleo. Kleo, for one, was not a dress kind of girl. They were too drafty, and she didn't know how to sit in them, especially short dresses that were above the knees since she has the worst manners. But if it was made by Evie, she would just suck it up and wear it.
The last thing Evie needed to maintain was Kleo's hair. Now, get this, Kleo has never bothered to run a comb through it herself. (It wasn't the same when her mother would give her and her brother and her sister baths as cubs. And by bath, she means a bath by the tongue.) She has the mindset of a lion (a very big cat) and has her own ways of grooming herself (since she is supposed to be a lion and not a human teenager).
Kleo can't seem to get it through Evie's head that there aren't combs (or brushes) in the wild and her crazy mass of black hair would be acceptable because it would be in its natural state. Kleo winces as Evie tugs on her hair again. "Evie!" She shouts. "Do it how I showed you or I will be bald by the time Ben gets here!"
"Well, if you actually took better care of your hair, maybe we wouldn't be doing this," says Evie, rolling her eyes. She takes a messy and curly clump of Kleo's hair and combs the ends of her hair. She soon realizes this is ten times easier than the way she is doing before: starting at the top of Kleo's head and going down, it was the complete opposite with Kleo's hair type.
In less than fifteen minutes Evie was finished with Kleo's hair (she even ran a flat iron through so her hair wouldn't curl back up), styling it half up half down so her face was visible for once; Free of curly, uncombed strands in her face, that sometimes hide her eye's.
Kleo stares at herself in the mirror. She almost looked half decent and could pass for an Auradonian prep student (only if she fixed her manners, attitude, and somehow got rid of her scar). "Damn... I look hot." Her clothes weren't ripped or had accidental holes in them, her face was lightly applied with makeup, enhancing her beauty even more, and her hair looked like it would if she tried to look presentable. Her dress was a nice shade of burgundy with browns and blacks that stopped at her knees, black boots, and her brown and black leather jacket.
"I know," says Evie, flipping her blue hair over her shoulder. "You can thank me later." She takes a seat at her desk, admiring her work. "Now, don't smudge my masterpiece. Wouldn't want to scare Ben away on your first date, now would we?"
Kleo rolls her eyes. Yes, a date. It wasn't her first, but it would be her first official date with her fake boyfriend Ben. He had been pestering her (showing her his 'cursed' affection) for the past few days. Over the weekend he had shown up when she least wanted him to, which was all the time to be exact. She knows she must sell this act (by request of Mal) but she doesn't know how much longer she can keep this up.
Yes, she does enjoy the attention. Yes, she does enjoy the gifts. And yes, she enjoys the special treatment. Like when they had breakfast together in an isolated picnic table outside not too far from campus, and when they had lunch at Tiana's Place (and then found out Kato's girlfriend, princess Naomi, was the daughter of the owner's, Tiana and Naveen.) But it wasn't like she truly liked Ben. It was only the curse dictating his heart and brain and emotions to do all those things for her. So, why does Kleo feel like she wants these gestures to be genuine? Like he really means them, and not because he is forced to do it.
Kleo scowls at herself. Her thoughts are betraying her. And the longer she stays in Auradon, the more she starts to act like them, and think like them, and feel like them. Kleo doesn't want that! Not at all. They were too vulnerable and too fragile to even comprehend. Becoming like them would make her weak, and what lion wanted that? To be weak? Without courage? A lion without courage? Now that would be a sight to behold.
Her thoughts were interrupted as a knock raps at the door. She recognized the sweet musk behind the door and bit her tongue at a cranky remark. She swings the door open, and Ben stands before her. He has two helmets for a motorbike tucked under his armpits and he's as handsome as ever. He wears white slacks held up by a black belt, black dress shoes, a royal blue dress shirt tucked into his pants, and his blue and gold varsity jacket.
Kleo, with as little teeth as possible, gives him her friendliest smile. He takes in the sight of her and sees a completely different girl but still the same Kleo somehow. The blood rushes to his face and ears and neck as he says, "For the first time, I understand the difference between pretty and beautiful." Kleo rolls her eyes and shakes her head while taking his free arm. Evie comes and gives her thumbs up as the two walks down the hallway and then closes the door. Ben hands her a helmet and says, "I hope you like bikes."
✧
Holding onto Ben for dear life, as they rode through the beautiful forest life of Auradon. She thought the campus' grounds of the nicely kept green grass and perfectly trimmed hedges were astonishing, but it was nothing compared to what she was seeing. She assumed this is what the jungle looked like, well, if it wasn't as hectic and free of the jungle animals.
Ben leads her to a gazebo where a picnic is laid out. And next to it was a shimmering lake. She shuddered at the sight of it. Cats and bodies of water didn't mix. Especially when the cat isn't willing to get in the water.
Kleo tries her best to get in a comfortable position, but the dress was making it kind of hard. She eventually found a nice position to sit in (right after Ben laughed at her fidgeting and discomfort and she lightly punched his arm in fake annoyance).
The two indulge themselves into topics Kleo thought she would never touch. There were a few times he would bring up one of his duties as the prince (also the incoming king) and she would make a nasty comment about it or suggest he resolve it by being brutish and unpredictable. He didn't like that but appreciated her thoughts.
"Tell me something about yourself that you've never told anyone," says Ben. He lounges on the blanket watching Kleo stuff her face. He needed a break from conversations always being about him, so he decided to flip it this time. He wanted to be the listener. He thinks it would be a nice change, especially if he's the one listening to Kleo.
"Like what?" she asks, with a mouthful of a Monte Cristo sandwich.
Ben pauses momentarily to think and then asks, "What's your middle name?"
Kleo swallows and then takes a sip of water. "Kovu," Ben raises an eyebrow. "My father was going to name me that if I was a boy. It literally means 'scar' in Swahili."
"So, you were pretty much going to be Scar, Jr?" laughs Ben, taking a bite out of his sandwich.
Kleo snorts. "Yeah, I suppose... What's your middle name, Bennyboo?" There's a sort of mocking tone when she says that awful nickname created by Audrey.
Ben cringes. "If I tell you, will you stop calling me that?"
"Depends on what your middle name is, Bennyboo," mocks Kleo, putting much emphasize on his horrible pet name.
He sighs. "Florian." Kleo howls with laughter. "Yeah, I know."
"Florian?!" exclaims Kleo. "What the fu―"
"Language, Kleo," interrupts Ben, frowning.
Kleo rolls her eyes, taking a bite out of her sandwich. "Whatever you say... Florian." She grins, deviously.
"Oh, no. I take back what I said," He chuckles. "Go back to Bennyboo."
"Aww! Is little Florian embarrassed?" asks Kleo, in a teasing manner, pouting her lips and batting her eye's.
"Kleo," says Ben, in a warning voice.
She mocks him. "Ben." Kleo giggles at him. Her teasing is certainly getting a rise from him.
Ben clears his throat. "Tell me more about yourself. What was your life on The Isle like?"
Kleo's smile slowly vanishes. She didn't want to think about The Isle right now. All she wanted to do was forget about it right now and spend fake romantic time with her fake boyfriend. But she sucks it up and answers anyway. "Well, life on The Isle is so much different from here, so much more darkness and less of the light, you could say. Lots of people feared me, so I didn't make any friends as easily. Mal was the first person to not fear me, which was nice. But everyone is the same on The Isle: mean, heartless, and cruel. I mean, there are a few nice people on The Isle like my older sister and my mother, my friend Dizzy, and... Gil." She stops and glances at the shimmering lake for a moment. Ben watches her. He notices how she can barely say the boy's name.
"Gil? Who's he?" questions Ben.
"Now don't be gettin' all jealous on me, Florian. He's my ex-boyfriend. He's part of this pirate gang run by Mal's ex-best friend Uma," explains Kleo.
He hums, nods, and then smiles. "You have a sister?"
"Well, half-sister. My father is her stepfather. She's nice. She's always been there for me, even when father doubted my abilities to follow in his paw prints. Nuka, my older half-brother, hates the fact that father wants me to carry on his legacy and not him. Whatever that legacy is anyways." She adds the last sentence when Ben's face goes in slight horror. She knows what he's thinking: possibly murder Kato (or Simba) for his crown. Something along the lines of that she assumes. But it's far from it, really. Murder isn't something on her agenda for life.
"Tell me something else..." says Ben. Kleo furrows her brows and Ben eyes her scar on her left brow. He has a curious thought. "If you don't mind, tell me how you got your scar?"
Kleo is caught off guard for a second. No one's ever asked that. And she's never had to explain it to anyone of how she got it either. She supposes now will be the first of many times. "Well, I got my scar when I was a cub. Mal and I were wrestling in the graveyard. I mean, it was more of Mal trying to wrestle me and I was trying my hardest not to hurt her since I can be a bit aggressive when rough housing. We stopped when we got to this unfamiliar part of the graveyard.
"Like the curious little kids we were, we decided to explore it. As I was looking around, all I hear is Mal shriek and I run over to see what scared her. It turns out the hyenas my father used to use as henchmen hung out there―you know, Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed. But we were lucky it wasn't them; it was their kids. There were three of them and I don't know their names, but everyone on The Isle called them the 'Spotted Hyenas'." Ben nods to show that he's listening. She continues.
"They start trying to intimidate us because we're outnumbered by three to two, plus, I'm pretty sure they recognized me. Mal started to shoot back insults when they started to get mouth-ey. Mal had no intention of backing down when one of them threatened her. I guess she said the wrong thing because I saw one of them bare their claws and raises their paw as if to scratch her. And I was right, the hyena was going to. But as they were doing so, I jumped in front of her so she wouldn't get hurt. They caught me right in the eye. I thought they took my eye out but I was just overreacting. When I got home, my mother went ballistic and my sister thought I was gonna go blind." She chuckles at the last part. She remembers Vitani close to tears when she saw her bloody eye and eyebrow, shouting about how she was going to kill the hyena that did it. (Of course, she was bluffing. She wouldn't hurt a fly.)
"Wow, Kleo the hero," he teases, grinning from ear to ear.
"It was nothing..." If Kleo's skin was as fair as Ben's, she thinks she would be blushing.
"It's not 'nothing', Kleo. You jumped in to save your friend from someone who could have seriously hurt her. Not to mention you were only a kid too. That takes serious courage."
"You really think so?"
"Oh, I know so." He gazes at the shimmering lake and then rises to his feet. "Let's go for a swim."
"Uh, right now?" asks Kleo.
"Yeah, right now," He starts to unbutton his blue dress shirt as Kleo stands there dumbfounded. "Come on, it'll be fun."
Kleo supposes it wouldn't hurt, but she then remembers one tiny problem as she stands to her feet: "Ben, I can't swim."
"That's fine. I'll teach you." He takes off his shoes and then grabs his swimming trunks off the chair. "But we'll start small: floating."
Kleo nods. "I guess." She takes off her jacket and boots, she then hesitates to unzip her dress. She looks at Ben as he watches, his ears going red. Kleo smirks. "I just don't want to get this wet, ya know? Evie worked so hard on it; I don't want to get it ruined."
It's halfway off her body when Ben scurries off behind a big rock behind the lake that's on the other side of the lake. Kleo shifts the weight between her feet and stares at the water in her underwear, dress discarded on the blanket.
She feels like she's having too much fun with Ben. She can't deny that she is enjoying this date with him. If only this weren't part of some diabolical plan, if only this were some story from a fairy tale where she's this beautiful princess and he's himself: the charming prince. They kiss and fall in love and live happily ever after. But this isn't a fairy tale, at least she doesn't think so.
She isn't supposed to get a happily ever after. She's the villain, at least she thinks so. She knows she's a bit confused right now because she doesn't know what to make of this situation. It's like she's stuck.
She wants to continue with the plan to make her father proud, to free the other villains from their prison called The Isle, and she wants to make Mal and Maleficent happy with this evil plan. But she also wants to be happy with Ben. Be pampered, be dotted on, be loved. On The Isle, there was too much neglecting and recklessness. She felt like an unloved, caged animal on The Isle.
But she can't just abandon her friends and family like that if she were to stay in Auradon and never look back. It would be cruel! She already misses her mother and Vitani and her father. She even misses Nuka, for Christ's sake! What's a lioness to do?
She's ripped from her thoughts when she sees a blur of blue and gold in the corner of her eye. It's Ben atop of the big rock and he looks quite proud of something. Kleo looks at his swimming trunks: a royal blue background with little gold crowns. She giggles. "Nice trunks, Florian!"
"Nice underwear, Kovu!" He shoots back. Kleo gives him a sultry pose, not at all bothered by his ridicule but surprised he bit back. He lets a beastly roar, an imitation of his father when he was the Beast. He then cannonballs into the lake, causing a medium-sized splash back that sprays Kleo.
Ben disappears under the water for a few moments and comes back to the top. He swims over to Kleo and reaches out his arms for her to take his hand. She stares at his hands, waiting as if he was going to play a trick on her. "Come on, Kleo, you'll be fine. Trust me."
"Yikes," she mumbles. She takes his hands in hers and he pulls her into the lake. "Those are dangerous words."
The waters a bit cold and Kleo can feel her heart racing. The portions of the sea trapped inside the barrier of The Isle weren't safe. Like the body of water where Uma hung out was infested with sharks and another one with eels. Plus, there was no point in visiting the sea when there was so much to steal on land.
For the next ten minutes, Ben tries to teach Kleo the basics of swimming. Like floating on her back and treading water, teaching her to stay afloat before swimming.
He had an idea, once she knew how to do that, her animal instincts would kick in and guide her of how to at least doggy paddle. He could see how she tried not to get her hair wet (she forgot to put it up). He always wondered why cats didn't like getting their hair wet. Kleo soon explained to him why: cats see it as a disciplinary thing, mostly with domestic cats. Wild cats (like a lion or tiger) did not require adapting to it. (But in Kleo's case, if she lived in Africa and her father never betrayed Mufasa, she would avoid riverbanks to stay clear of dwelling predators like alligators.) (Plus, it makes her hair heavy since she does have a lot of it, and heavy hair can strain your neck, so that's a no for her.) (She accepts it to get wet only when she takes a shower.)
Still uneasy with the idea of swimming, Ben holds Kleo on her back and gives her a warm smile, trying to persuade her there was nothing to fear. "See, it's alright."
"I guess so," she shrugs. Ben let's go and Kleo tries to do it by herself. And she finds it quite easy to do so. To take her mind off the possibility of drowning (which was impossible with Ben was supervising her as you would to a child just learning to swim), she watches the clouds float by and listens to the sounds of nature. It was so calm, so collected and quiet. If anyone fresh off The Isle were there, they would be itching to destroy the tranquility of it all.
After a bit, she thinks that's enough of floating. As she steadies and calms herself to tread the water, she looks around to find Ben nowhere in sight. Did he leave her out there all alone? No. She looks over into the gazebo to still see their picnic laid out and clothes still there. And it wasn't like she could smell him properly with the water moving his scent around and not giving her a clear sense of where he is. Her chest starts to tighten, and her breath gets short. Kleo starts to panic. "Ben? Ben? Ben!" There's no answer and her panicking only gets worse.
Before Kleo can start acting irrationally, something grabs her ankle in the water. She's about to start thrashing around when Ben emerges and holds a white, glowering ball in his hand. "It's okay, it's just me. Nothing will get you while I'm here," He reassured.
"Get me?! I thought something happened to you! You scared me!" exclaims Kleo, jabbing his chest in anger and worry. (Worry. That's new.)
"Well, while you were practicing, I saw this fancy rock and thought of you."
"A rock made you think of me?"
"Well, I mean, it, uh, looks pretty and you're pretty, so..." he trails off, his ears going red.
Kleo snatches the rock from him. "Thanks, I guess."
"Why don't you make a wish and throw it back in the water," he suggests.
Kleo stares at the rock and then closes her eye's. I wish I understood what I was feeling for you, Ben. She then chucks the rock in the water behind Ben.
Ben slowly touches a strand of Kleo's hair, watching it curl up because of the water. He averts his hazel eyes to Kleo's face, studying it as if it would be the last time, he was seeing it. Her lips were these two perfect curves, her eye's an abnormal green color making it clear that they aren't supposed to be that color (she would have brown eyes if she were completely human), a cute nose, and that scar that intimidates anyone who doesn't know the story behind it.
Kleo almost wants to shrink away from him. The silence was worrying her, and he was staring at her like something was wrong or he was trying to figure something out. "What's wrong, Ben?"
"I told you that I loved you," begins Ben. Kleo can hear her heart in her ears. "What about you? Do you love me?"
Kleo opens her mouth to say something. She wants to lie and say that she does love him, but she can't. Yes, she likes him, but love? She hasn't known him for that long. And she knows love takes time. "I... don't know. I've never felt love for anyone in that particular way before."
He cups her face in his hands. "Maybe I can teach you."
✧
"Children, excuse me," A few days have passed, and it's now the end of the second week that the villain kids have been in Auradon. They know they are taking a bit longer than expected, but the only way to get the magic wand was at Ben's Coronation. The five descendants halt in grabbing their belongings and give Fairy Godmother their undivided attention, gathering in the front of the classroom. "Um, as you know, uh, this Sunday is Family Day here at Auradon Prep. And because your parents can't be here due, uh―" She pauses to find the right word. The five descendants give each other knowing looks. Fairy Godmother goes and drags in a flat screen television on a small entertainment center in front of them and continues. "―distance, we've arranged for a special treat."
Fairy Godmother turns the television on and who appears shocks them all. All a bit too close to the screen, on the other side, Maleficent, Evil Queen Grimhilde, Jafar, Cruella De Vile, Zira and Vitani appear in high definition.
"I don't see anything, nor do I hear," says Maleficent. Evil Queen Grimhilde, who sits next to the mistress of all evil, presses many buttons on a remote control as if it would do something. "Is it... is it... is..."
"Press enter," suggests Jafar.
"What about the button that says power?" mumbles Vitani, in Swahili.
"Can I please see the remote?" asks Maleficent, as she snatches the device from the Evil Queen. "Is this thing on? Ugh, it's broken! Ugh. I hate electronic equip..."
Suddenly the villains' face light up. Their screen on The Isle suddenly is bright and can see their children standing in the nice classroom at Auradon Prep.
"Evie, it's mommy!" says Evil Queen Grimhilde. She gets too close to the screen to get a better look at her daughter, who looks the least ecstatic to see her. Evie waves to her mother. "Oh! Look how beautiful. Oh, you know what they say, the poison apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
"Don't you mean the weeds?" asks Maleficent, cackling.
Cruella makes a disgusted face. "Ooh! Who's the old bat?"
"This is Fairy Godmother," explains Mal.
"Still doing tricks with eggplants?" asks Maleficent. The villains, except Zira and Vitani, laugh.
"I turned a pumpkin into a beautiful carriage!" defends Fairy Godmother.
"You really couldn't give Cinderella till one A.M.?" laughs Maleficent. "I mean, really. What, the hamsters had to be back on their little wheels?"
"They were mice!" shouts Fairy Godmother. "They were not... they were mice. They were not..." She starts to breathe slowly to control her temper and gain her composure back.
"Thank you so much," says Mal, trying to extinguish the teasing from her mother and not wanting to get Fairy Godmother too worked up. "Thank you."
"They were mice," clarifies Fairy Godmother one last time as she steps aside.
Mal puts on a fake smile. "Hi, mom."
"Mal!" exclaims Maleficent. "I m-m-miss you."
I bet that really pained her to say that, Kleo thought.
"You children are never far from our thoughts," adds Jafar, trying to make them sound more believable of missing them.
"I got it," reassures Mal.
"How long must mommy wait to see you?" asks Maleficent.
Kleo watches Mal's face cringe a bit but then relaxes. "Um, there's a big coronation coming up next Friday," says Mal. "I think sometime probably after... that." Mal side glances at her friends.
"When?" asks Maleficent.
"This Friday. Ten A.M. Sharp," says Kleo, her patience running thin with the evil fairy.
"You sure I can't see you before that?" asks Maleficent. "I don't know what I'll do if I don't get my hands on that magic wan... you... you little nugget that I love so much."
"Yes," sighs Mal. "I completely understand, mother."
"Carlos?" asks Cruella. She spots Dude Carlos has held close to him. "Is that a dog? Oh, yes, yes, baby, I do understand. It would make the perfect size for earmuffs."
Carlos is horrified by his mother's statement about his new best friend. "He's the perfect size for a pet!"
"Oh!"
"This dog loves me, and I love him. And FYI, your dog is stuffed!"
"Oh!"
"So, give it a rest!"
"Oh-ho!" laughs Jafar, "Burn!"
The two villains then begin to start bickering, causing everyone to roll their eyes.
"Sister!" exclaims Vitani over the arguing. She speaks in Swahili still. "We miss you! By 'we', I mean mother and I. Nuka does, he just won't admit it."
Kleo smiles. Her sister smiles back and so does her mother. "I miss you guys too. What about father? Does he, um, miss me too?"
"I think so," says Vitani. "I can't really tell what he thinks half the time, except when he complains about you taking a little too long with getting the wand."
"Oh," her smile drops.
"Chin up, my pretty child," says Zira, with a toothy grin. "Never mind that unreliable piece of wood. All that matters is that you have a better life in the Pride Lands."
Kleo wants to cry. She never knew her mother wanted this for her. She always thought she hated Auradon, but it was really the opposite. Kleo wants a hug. A hug from her mother and her sister. "I love you, mom, Vitani."
"Aww," says Vitani, her purple eye's big with love. "We love you too!"
That's the last thing she hears when the screen goes black. She guesses everyone couldn't take the other villains bickering anymore.
Kleo studies their faces and sees how upset they are. She supposes they thought they would be excited to see their parents after two weeks, but they aren't. It's like they are feeling what she's feeling. They don't want to go back to The Isle and be with their parents, but they don't want to just abandon all the good things that Auradon has to offer them. It's just that, in Auradon, they have a second chance for a better life, just like Ben wanted them to have. But they can't.
"I'm so sorry," says Fairy Godmother. She looks sad and very upset. It was supposed to be a nice treat for them to see their parents, but it wasn't.
"Thanks," says Jay, with a sad smile. "For the special treat."
"Of course," says Fairy Godmother, rolling the television away and cleaning up her teaching supplies.
The five of them turn and walk to the entrance of the classroom. No one knows what to say, but they all think the same thing. Their parents were counting on them, and the last thing they want to do is let them down, even if it means spoiling everything, they have in Auradon.
"M," Evie is the first to speak. She holds Kleo's hand, trying not to burst into tears. "What do you think our parents are gonna do to us... If we don't pull this off?"
Mal doesn't respond immediately. She takes a deep breath and says, "I think they will be quietly disappointed in us, but ultimately... Maybe even proud that we did our best."
"Really?" asks Carlos, hopeful. He hugs Dude close to him.
"No," Mal shakes her head. She should have known better. "I think we are definitely goners."
✧
AUTHOR'S NOTE: as you can see, kleo has changed a bit. and she is very conflicted. and so are the others in this scene. hope it was alright, and i wrote the date a bit differently because i don't like to copy and paste, and i don't like to do the same thing as others. and kleo's bravery for mal is out of this world. she loves her friends more than anything and even her family. hope you enjoyed this chapter.